Blockchain Adoption and Governance Reform in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector: Opportunities, Constraints, and Policy Pathways

Abstract

In Nigeria's oil and gas industry, the problems of inconsistent reporting, lack of inter-agency collaboration, and untrustworthy state institutions continue to persist. This paper analyses the effects of blockchain technology on strengthening the processes of reporting and auditing petroleum production, given the current institutional settings in Nigeria. This analysis does not consider blockchain technology to be the best, or the only option. Rather, the focus is on the extent to which the technology can help provide more reliable audit trails, improve real-time inter-agency communication, and build structures to support the verification and authentication of records. The analysis also explains the institutional and technological frameworks within which the proposed improvements can be realized. This research contributes to the field by managing expectations on the contribution of blockchain technology to governance improvements within the existing socio-institutional structures.